Security ground anchor

ABSTRACT

A fastener apparatus, a helical augur, to provide a secure anchor of movable objects to terrestrial sub-surfaces. An inverted cone collar inserted on the upper shaft of the auger is trapped to prevent removal or lowering, but is free to rotate. A key insert is provided to lock the augur to the cone collar so that the augur can be turned in or out when the key is inserted, but cannot be turned without the key.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is substantially the same as that ProvisionalApplication No. 61/224,480 of the title “Security Augur” filed Jul. 10,2009 by EPS ID Number 5676611 by the same inventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally directed to a removable anchordesigned to be turned into the ground, soil or sand, for the purpose ofsecuring personal property. In prior art, anchors are used to tetherobjects to terrestrial surfaces. This invention teaches the need in theart for anchors that can be placed into the ground but need a key toallow removal of the anchor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

A fastener apparatus to provide a secure anchor of movable objects toterrestrial sub-surfaces comprising a helical augur (In the drawings,Reference numbers 1 and 2) with a vertical upper shaft (Ref. 3), aninverted cone collar (Ref. 4) with a bore where said helical augur uppershaft is coaxially inserted into the bore of the inverted cone collar.The helical augur upper shaft coaxially inserted into the bore of theinverted cone collar is provided an annular gap for free coaxialrotation. The helical augur upper shaft has an outer diameter that isreduced in size along the bore of the cone collar (Ref. 5) to trap theinverted cone on the shaft, thus to prevent axial movement of the conecollar that would enable removal of the cone collar from the shaft or alowering of the cone collar to expose the shaft. A key insert (Refs.6,7,8,9) is provided to lock the augur shaft to the cone collar forrotation control of the augur during insertion and removal of the anchorfrom terrestrial sub-surfaces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows the Security Ground Anchor with the helical augur of theopen screw form, inverted cone collar with permanent component parthandles, and a roughly cylindrical key.

FIG. 2 shows the anchor with the augur of the helically positioned wingsform, removable handles and a polygonal key.

FIG. 3 shows only the upper part of the Security Ground Anchor withpermanent component part handles, and two possible alternative keys:(Ref. 8) a roughly cylindrical key with a vertical projection that dropsdown into a matching hole and (Ref. 9) a key in the form of anupside-down “L” pin that inserts radially through the cone collar. Notethat in normal practice, only one, not both forms of keys would be usedin a single Security Ground Anchor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As mentioned above, the present invention is an anchor designed to beturned into the ground, soil or sand, for the purpose of securingmoveable objects. Security is enabled by a mechanism designed todisconnect the shaft of the augur from the handles (Refs. 10, 11) on aninverted cone collar used to rotate the augur into the ground. Thus, theinverted cone collar rotates freely and the anchor cannot be removedusing the handles. The items connected to the anchor are secured becausethe anchor can no longer be easily removed. As examples of use: abicycle can be secured to an open meadow, a dinghy can be secured to asandy beach, a picnic basket can be secured to a grassy section of apark, a yard ornament can be secured to garden soil, a tent can besecured to the ground in a campsite, a workman's tool chest can besecured to the graded material in a construction site, a surveyor'stripod can be secured to a road bank, a temporary signpost can besecured to a gravel road bed, a kayak can be secured to a sandbar, or adog leash can be secured to a lawn. As turned into the ground, the upperpart of the anchor consists of a straight shaft (Ref. 3). The straightshaft is usually a round stock or tubular form, similar to the uppershaft of a large wood screw without a head. Alternatively, the crosssection of the straight shaft may be other than round. For example, thestraight shaft may have a square or rectangular cross section. The lowerpart of the anchor consists of either: (a) a helical section forming anopen screw form, similar to a large version of that type of opencorkscrew that is formed of a single wire (Ref. 1), or (b) helicallypositioned wings or threads formed onto a straight shaft, similar to alarge wood screw with threads positioned around a straight shaft (Ref.2). The helically positioned wings or threads may extend for only aportion of the straight shaft. In either version, the augur is turnedinto the ground by turning the shaft, much like a wood screw is drawninto wood, or a corkscrew is turned into a cork.

This patent teaches a method of defeating removal of the anchor byallowing the handles (inverted cone) to rotate freely. A key isnecessary to lock the inverted cone collar to the augur shaft to rotatethe augur out of the terrestrial surface. The disconnect mechanism is aninverted cone collar (Ref. 4), placed around the shaft of the augur sothat the central axis of the inverted cone collar is concentric with thecentral axis of the round shaft. That is, the inverted cone collar slipsover the shaft like a cylindrical bushing or bearing slips over a roundshaft or axle. The vertical shaft is a bearing surface within the boreof the cone collar. The top surface of the inverted cone collar is flushwith or above the top surface of the shaft. That is, the top of theshaft does not extend vertically above the inverted cone collar. Thus,an attempt to turn the shaft with a gripping device like pliers or awrench is defeated by the position of the inverted cone collar wrappingaround the shaft preventing the gripping device from getting a purchaseon the shaft. The inverted cone collar rotates freely until the shaftand the collar are connected. Thus, an attempt to turn the shaft for thepurpose of rotating out the augur is defeated by the free rotation ofthe inverted cone collar, much like a “theft resistant lug nut” on anautomobile wheel defeats an attempt to remove the lug nut by rotatingfreely when a wrench is engaged. Similarly, an attempt to turn the shaftof the augur will be defeated by the free rotation of the inverted conecollar, whether engaged by a wrench, a gripping mechanism such aspliers, or by a hand. The cone collar may fit relatively tightly ontothe shaft at its lower extremity, thus rotating freely without wobbling.At its upper extremity, the cone collar may not fit tightly onto theshaft, but still closely enough that a gripping mechanism, such aspliers or a wrench, cannot easily grip the shaft. The inverted conecollar may be secured to the shaft in such a way that it cannot be movedin an axial direction. That is, the inverted cone collar cannot be movedup or down the shaft more than a minor distance. The restrainingmechanisms can be clip rings, jam nuts, pins, or other devices thatsurround the shaft or pin the shaft in such a way as to prevent theremoval or movement of the inverted cone collar either up or down theshaft. The diameter of the shaft may be reduced to trap the restrainingmechanisms (Ref. 5).

One or two handles are connected to the collar in a way to allow handrotation of the cone collar. The handles are either a permanentcomponent part of the cone collar (Ref. 10), or a removable handle orhandles inserted into the cone collar (Ref. 11). As a permanentcomponent part, the handle or handles can be extensions of the conecollar material in a radial direction, like a “T” handle” or an“upside-down L” handle. Alternatively, the removable handles can be oneor two inserts in the form of shafts or spikes inserted into the conecollar in a radial direction, once again forming a “T” handle or“upside-down L” handle. The only difference between the two versions ofhandles is that the first is fixed, integral with the cone collar, whilethe second is removable. Both serve the purpose of providing a radialgripping surface for turning the cone collar much like a tee handle on asocket wrench shaft provides a means of turning the socket. The conecollar and handle combination are a tapered form with the smallestdiameter at the bottom, the largest diameter at the top. The smallestdiameter at the bottom is only slightly larger than the diameter of theshaft. By tapering the cone collar and handle combination, with nosignificant ledge or shoulder, any attempt to dislodge the anchor byplacing a lever under the cone collar and handle combination will bedefeated. The lever will slip harmlessly to the side, unable to grip thecone collar and handle. In the case of a removable handle or handles,the attempt to lever out the anchor is defeated when the handles areremoved from the cone collar and put in a location inaccessible to apotential thief.

A “key’ is inserted into the joint between the cone collar and the shaftof the augur to reconnect the two components and allowing the handles toonce again turn the shaft of the augur, permitting removal of theanchor. The “key” takes one of several forms:

a) A roughly cylindrical (Ref. 6) or polygonal (Ref. 7) key insert thatslips over the top end of the shaft (Refs. 12, 13) and inside the conecollar, much like a thrust bearing slips over the top of a shaft andinside of the bearing cap. The key thus fills part or all of the spacebetween the outside surface of the shaft and the inside of the conecollar. In this alternative, the uppermost section of the shaft will beshaped in a form other than round. For examples, the uppermost sectionof the shaft may have a keyway cut into it, or the upper most section ofthe shaft may be machined to form a half shaft with a semi-circularcross section (Ref. 12), or the upper most section of the shaft may bemachined into a splined shaft form (Ref. 13). Similarly, the innersurface of the cone collar will be shaped in a form other than round. Byfilling part or all of the space between outside of the shaft and theinside of the cone collar, the key “mates” the two surfaces, in effectgripping both surfaces in such a way that one cannot turn withoutturning the other. Thus, when the handle or handles turns the conecollar, the shaft is turned. This patent teaches that a security key canhave a variety of shapes, thus preventing use of one key in anotheranchor. This first alternative is somewhat more vulnerable in that anobject, such as a screwdriver, might be inserted into the space in anattempt to get a purchase on both the shaft and the inside of the conecollar at the same time. Such an effort can be thwarted by making thesurfaces in rounded forms rather than angular forms. Thus the insertedobject will tend to roll off the shaft and cone collar without getting afirm grip on both at the same time.

b) A roughly cylindrical key insert (Ref. 8) that, again, fills part orall of the space between the outside surface of the shaft and the insidesurface of the cone collar. In this alternative, the uppermost sectionof the shaft, again, will be shaped in a form other than round. Forexamples, the uppermost section of the shaft may have a keyway cut intoit, or the upper most section of the shaft may be machined to form ahalf shaft with a semi-circular cross section, or the shaft may bemachined into a splined shaft form. In this alternative, the insidesurface of the cone collar, unlike alternative (a) above, will remain asmooth cylindrical form. This is done to defeat an attempt to turn theshaft by inserting an object, such as a screwdriver, into the spacebetween the shaft and the collar. Such an object will just spin freelywithin the smooth inner walls of the cone collar. In this alternative,the key will conform to the form of the shaft, but spin freely withinthe cone collar. To engage the shaft to the cone collar, the key willextend above the surface of the cone collar, radially from the shaftextending out over the top of the cone collar. This key will engage thecone collar in such a way that the cone collar will turn the key, thusturning the shaft. The engagement mechanism of the key to the conecollar can be one of a large number of alternatives. For examples, thekey can have vertical projections dropping down into matching holes(Ref. 14) or cutouts in the top surface of the cone collar, or the keycan have an arm that fits into a groove cut in the top surface of thecone collar, or the key can have a projection that fits alongside theoutside perimeter of the cone collar into a matching cutout. The precisemechanism of engagement of the key to the cone collar is unimportantprovided that the key makes a firm contact with the cone collar so thatthe cone collar turns the shaft. Again, this patent teaches that asecurity key can have a variety of shapes, thus preventing the use ofone key in another anchor.

c) In this alternative, the key consists of a pin that inserts radiallythrough the cone collar into or along side the shaft (Ref. 9). In thisalternative, the shaft will be drilled or otherwise penetrated, or willbe machined with a groove or cutaway along one surface. The key, like apin, will slide into, through or alongside the shaft. By pinning thecone collar to the shaft, much like a cotter pin will pin a nut to abolt, or a shear pin will pin a pulley to a shaft, the cone collar willturn the shaft. In this alternative, the shape of the key, in the formof a pin, will be important to provide security. The path of the key,that is, the key hole or keyway, may be radially cut through the greaterdiameter of the cone collar, that is, near the top. By being longer, thekeyway will be more difficult to penetrate by device such as a nail or ascrewdriver. The key itself may be shaped in as a thin strap, or may betapered, or may be “L” or “T” or “Z” shaped, as examples. In this way,an unauthorized attempt to connect the cone collar to the shaft byinserting a screwdriver, a nail or a similar implement will be defeatedby the unusual shape of the keyhole or keyway and by its extreme length.For example, a nail inserted into the keyway may too short and too thickto reach through the cone collar and into the shaft. A screwdriver maybe long enough to reach the distance, but too thick in cross-section toextend into the shaft.

Additionally, a sleeve (Ref. 15) may be fitted onto the vertical uppershaft of the augur, below the cone collar and above the helical augur.This sleeve also has an annular gap, allowing free rotation. Thus, apotential thief who tries to turn the augur by gripping the shaft belowthe cone collar is prevented because the gripping device, like pliers,will only turn the sleeve, not the shaft.

This patent teaches that a simple method of disconnecting andreconnecting a cone collar and handle to the shaft of an augur turnedinto the ground can create a relatively theft proof security system byattaching personal property to the anchor by means of a cable, chain,strap, or similar device (Ref. 16). The exact method of attaching thecable, chain or strap to the anchor is unimportant. Provided that thecable, chain or strap is connected to the anchor in such a way as to berelatively difficult to remove, the anchor provides a measure ofsecurity for the personal property, when a more convenient attachmentpoint, such as a tree, a fence post, or a handrail is not available.Only by digging up the anchor, or by cutting the cable, chain or strap,can the personal property be taken. Like the deterrent to a potentialthief of a cable, chain or strap that is difficult and time consuming tocut, a Security Ground Anchor that is turned into the ground and noteasily removed will be a deterrent to a potential thief. In the eventthat a potential thief attempts to lever out the Security Ground Anchorby wrapping the cable, chain or strap around a large lever, such as along board or pipe, and then hoisting, this effort can be defeated bycombining an inflexible strap or rod, such as a steel strap or a roundrod, between the anchor and the property. This strap or rod addition,not a necessary part of this patent, can reduce the incidence of theftby making a levered removal more difficult.

It is to be understood that the spirit of the invention is maintaineddespite minor shape changes or fastening methods.

1. A fastener apparatus to provide a secure anchor of movable objects toterrestrial sub-surfaces comprising: a helical augur with a verticalupper shaft; and an inverted cone collar with a bore; and said helicalaugur upper shaft coaxially inserted into the bore of the inverted conecollar.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the said helical augur uppershaft coaxially inserted into the bore of the inverted cone collar isprovided an annular gap for free coaxial rotation.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 2 wherein the said helical augur upper shaft is provided with anouter diameter reduced in size to trap the inverted cone collar on theshaft to prevent axial movement of the cone that would enable removal ofthe cone collar from the shaft or a lowering of the cone collar toexpose the shaft.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the wherein thesaid helical augur upper shaft coaxially inserted into the bore of theinverted cone collar is provided a key insert to lock the augur to thecone collar for rotational control of the augur during insertion andremoval of the anchor from terrestrial sub-surfaces.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 4 wherein moveable objects are trapped between the terrestrialsurface and the bottom of the cone collar or are restrained by a tetherattached to the anchor below the inverted cone collar.
 6. The apparatusof claim 5 wherein a freely rotating sleeve is installed on the verticalupper shaft between the bottom of the cone collar and the upper part ofthe helical augur.